Submersible pumps (e.g., electric submersible pumps, electric submersible progressive cavity pumps, etc.) are widely used “downhole” within a well bore to extract water, oil, gas, suspended solids, and/or other materials from the well bore. These pumping systems are typically constructed as combined, integral units that include a motor that drives a long, small diameter, multi-staged centrifugal pump. The motor is generally around 20 feet long, and typically is less than about 7.5 inches in diameter. The narrow diameter of the motor is crucial to the functionality of the pumping system, which is lowered into the well bore and submerged in the fluid being extracted. This is because the cross-sectional footprint of the motor assembly impedes the flow of the fluid being extracted.
Conventional submersible pumping systems are typically fairly robust devices, and the motors implemented therein tend to be formed from components and/or materials that are rugged. The reliability of the motor of a submersible pumping system is important because failures of the motor typically result in a substantial cost in time (during which the extraction of fluid is ceased or impaired), manpower, and/or materials. For example, as a result of a motor failure, a pump may have to be removed from the well bore, the motor serviced or replaced, and/or the pump reinserted into the well bore. As a result, there is a need for enhancing the reliability of conventional submersible pumping systems other than further improving the quality and ruggedness of their components and/or materials.